- The size of Seoul’s exhibition halls is 1/15 of that of
Shanghai … urgent to expand MICE infrastructure -

The Korea International Trade Association (Chairman, Kim
Young-joo) held the 'Seoul MICE Forum' at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in
Samseong-dong in cooperation with Seoul City on November 22nd.

The forum was held under the theme 'MICE Infrastructure and the
Cities’ Competitiveness,' and the MICE experts from the cities such as Seoul,
Hong Kong and Sydney participated as speakers to discuss the development
strategy of MICE in Seoul.

Han Jin-hyun, the vice-chairman of the Korea International Trade
Association said in his opening speech, “The Mace industry is a high-value-added
industry with significant economic contributions, such as developing export
channels, creating jobs, and boosting local economy.” He also stressed, “It is
urgent to expand MICE infrastructure in order to improve Korea’s economy and
Seoul's urban competitiveness.”

In addition, some addressed the need to expand MICE infrastructure
in Seoul where there is no further supply after the expansion of COEX in
Samseong-dong in 2000.

Huh In-gyu, a director at KITA said, “The Trade Center in
Samseong-dong is the only MICE complex in Korea, which generates added value
worth about 4 trillion won each year.” He insisted “In order to enhance Seoul's
competitiveness, it is necessary to hasten the creation of a multiple international
exchange center linked to COEX.”

Mr. Huh said, “The number of international conferences and
exhibitions in Seoul has been steadily increasing, but the recent uptrend is
slowing down mainly due to the lack of MICE infrastructure.” He also pointed
out, “The size of exhibition areas in Seoul is only 1/4 of Singapore and 1/15
of Shanghai.”

Professor Kim Chul-won of Kyung Hee University attended the forum
as a moderator of the panel discussion and said, "With the existing MICE
facilities in Seoul, it is difficult to attract global exhibitions that have a
big ripple effect." He added, "With the development of the MICE industry,
we can resolve many issues, such as unemployment of young people and stagnation
of domestic economy that Korean economy is currently facing.”

On 23rd, the last day of the Seoul MICE Forum, lectures
to nurture human resources in the related areas and talk concert will take
place at COEX.